President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly to work on the contentious areas in the tax reform bills.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
“It is pertinent to state that the government has nothing sinister to warrant the suggestion that the process is being rushed. In line with the established legislative procedure, the Federal General welcomes meaningful inputs that can address whatever grey areas there may be in the bills.
“In this vein, President Tinubu has already directed the Federal Ministry of Justice and relevant officials who worked on the drafts to work closely with the National Assembly to ensure that all genuine concerns have been addressed before the bills are passed.”
The minister said the president is committed to accountability to the Nigerian people and described the debates generated by the bills as “welcomed, and commendable”.
“It is very inspiring to see Nigerians from all walks of life coming out to express their views and opinions on these matters of critical national importance,” he said. “This is the very essence and meaning of democracy”.
“In the spirit of democratic engagement, there should be no room for name-calling, or for the injection of unnecessary ethnic and regional slurs into this important national conversation,” the minister said.
Although some of the arguments against the bills are that they were targeted at impoverishing some states, the minister has dismissed the claim which he labeled as “fake news” and “ misinformation”.
“The fiscal reforms will not impoverish any State or region of the country, neither will they lead to the scrapping or weakening of any federal agencies,” the minister added.
Criticisms have trailed Tinubu’s transmission of the Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly. The move has pitted the president against some governors with the most vocal criticism coming from the northern region.
Some critics believe the bills are against the northern region while others argue that they would further impoverish Nigerians.
